It's meant to be
by OTHiscool
Summary: AU. Lucas left Tree Hill for good when he moved to charleston with Keith. What will happen when the gang are reunited at college? will he and Peyton ever find their way back? Lucas/Rachel and Jake/Peyton at first, will end with Leyton maybe some Naley
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well I know I've got another fic to get going with but I thought of the idea for this earlier and just really wanted to do it, this is a sort of prologue for the actual fic, hope you guys like it.**

This was it. This was going to be the hard one. It had almost killed him to tell his mom he was moving to Charleston, and it had been hard enough telling Haley. He had left Brooke a letter, he knew it wasn't the best way to do it, but she wouldn't want to see him. Now he had to tell Peyton, how could he possibly tell Peyton he was leaving her? Forever. He desperately wished that things had worked out between them. But he had fucked up and he now had to pay the price, he had to do it. He had messed up her life, he had messed up Brooke's, he needed to get out of their lives. Her needed a fresh start. He needed somewhere where nobody knew him, where nobody would judge him. He needed a second chance.

He slowly got to her door, and unsurprisingly heard her music blaring from her room. He quickly opened the door and made his way up the stairs. He got to her room; she was lying on her bed with her back to him. Seeing her really took his breath away. Even though he couldn't see her face he still marvelled at her mesmerising beauty, the blonde curly hair he had always loved so much simply glowed.

'Hey' he whispered, careful not to startle her. She turned around, she seemed worried about something. Peyton had already known he was there, she could sense him. She looked around, why the fuck was he here? She thought she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to see him. She gave him a look as if to say _what the hell do you want?_

'You ok?' Lucas asked his voice full of concern.

'I've got some stuff going on' she shrugged; she definitely did not want to talk to him about the Jake stuff. He slowly walked towards her, trying to think what to say next.

'Look' He started. 'I just wanted to apologize, again. For not being a better person lately' He paused for a moment, god she was do beautiful he thought to himself. 'I'm trying Peyton' He argued. 'I don't know what else to say'. She shook her head; she couldn't bring herself to look at him, she couldn't let herself look into his eyes. She risked a quick look, but immediately regretted it, god she wanted to just jump into his arms, she sighed.

'It's not about what you say Luke. It's about what you do. You don't like the person you've become? Then do something about it. No one's going to do it for you.' She said, trying desperately to look like she really couldn't care less about him.

'I know' He said simply. 'That's why I came by. I'm going to be making a few changes.' He then paused for a second. 'I think this is goodbye. Just know Peyton, I will never forget you.' He said, glancing over at her one last time before turning away. Peyton stared at him. What the fuck?

'Luke what are you talking about? You're acting like we're never going to see each other again...' She said, her eyes welling up.

'I think there is a very good chance that we won't' He explained simply.

'What are you talking about?'

'I'm moving to Charleston with Keith... tomorrow. He needs someone to be with him right now. And I need to get away from Tree Hill' He hadn't wanted to give her the full details, but he really didn't want to lie to her either.

'What! So you fucked up! You don't need to leave!' She cried, she stood up in shock. Not Lucas too! Sure she was pissed at him at the moment, but they would find their way back, she couldn't really imagine her life without him anymore, he had become such a big part of her.

'It's the right thing to do.' He said, then paused for a moment, deep in thought. 'Peyton, before I joined the team, I used to be a pretty good guy. You remember what I was like when you were with Nathan?' She nodded, a tear sliding down her face. He had been so wonderful back then, he had been like a breath of fresh air. 'But somewhere along the way I lost myself. I didn't know what the fuck to do with popularity Peyton, I'm not like you and Brooke, I've never been popular. I led a pretty simple life before, all I had was the river court guys, Haley and basketball. Girls didn't look twice at me; it really was just me and Haley against the world. Then suddenly after my second game I was an overnight success... people that had previously hated me spoke to me like we'd been friends forever, and two amazing girls both wanted to be with me. I fucked up, I drove you both away, and even worse, I fucked up your lifelong friendship. Trust me, I wish I didn't have to leave. But I need to find myself again, and I need to get out of your lives, I've caused you guys nothing but trouble.'

'But... but' She started. She wanted to beg him to stay, it didn't really matter what he had done, she needed him, so badly. He walked over to her, he gently cupped her face. She closed her eyes she, loved the feeling of his hands.

'I meant it. I will never forget you.' He said, a tear sliding down his face. 'You will always be my what-if.' At this point Peyton broke down in tears. 'I'm so sorry about the way things worked out between us, I really am. I want you to know, I shoulder all the blame. For everything.' He took a moment to look at her. He hugged her briefly, and then gently brushed his lips against her cheek, before staring into her beautiful green eyes. 'I... I love you. I always have.' These touching words caused tears to start running down her face.

'I... I love you too' she smiled through the tears. It was true, she did. He smiled at her.

'I need you to forget about me. Soon I'll just be a bad memory. But make sure you patch things up with Brooke, best friends need each other. Remember, it was my entire fault. That why I have to leave'

'I don't want you to go' she wailed.

'It's for the best, you guys don't need me messing anything else up'. With that he turned around and made for the doorway. As he got there he looked back at her briefly. 'Goodbye Peyton'

She watched as he walked out of the door way. She watched as he walked out of her life.

**A/N: Well it's slightly rushed but I'm going away for a few days so I wanted to post it tonight. I'll update when I get back.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thanks for the encouraging reviews guys, just got back from Orlando and sort of planned out where this fic is going when I had some spare time, remember, this chapter is set two years after the prologue. This chapter will be kinda dry in parts (sorry!), but unfortunately it is necessary to explain everything first before I get to some of the drama that I have planned! Or I think it is anyway. Don't hate me for this chapter, trust me, this fic gets much better.**

This was it. Nathan had been waiting for this moment for as long as he could remember. From the moment he had first held a basketball, he had always dreamed of playing ball at Duke University. Ever since his father had first taught about him the prestigious history of the team, ever since he had told him the tale of the legendary Coach K, ever since he had described the fierce, bitter rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels to him, he had always wanted to wear the celebrated Blue Devil's jersey.

After a hugely successful, record breaking senior year that had included winning state and being named MVP, Nathan Scott had been hot property. He had had a host of colleges to pick from, he could have played in virtually every corner of the country, but the minute he got the call telling him that Duke were offering him a full ride, his heart was set. His wife Haley was also going to go with him, she was going to take up the qualifications needed to pursue her desired career in music. As well as this, Nathan had recently become a father, and his four month son James was also going to be moving to Durham with them, and although they knew it would be hard to juggle between home work, practice and the baby, they knew that they would manage. Additionally, their high school friends Brooke, Peyton and Jake had decided to go to Duke as well to help out with the baby, Brooke was going to do a diploma in fashion design, Jake would be doing the same music qualifications as Haley, and Peyton who had now been dating Jake for just under a year, was going to do an art degree. The girls would both also continue cheerleading.

Nathan was now going to his first ever practice session at Duke, he had decided the night before to get their early, he figured it would make a good start. It would immediately put him on good terms with the coaching team right from the word go, which definitely couldn't hurt. After kissing Haley and James goodbye, Nathan made his way to his car and drove to practice.

...

It felt good to be back in North Carolina, Lucas thought to himself. Two years back he had left his native Tree Hill to move to Charleston with his uncle Keith, and although Durham wasn't quite Tree Hill, it still felt good to be home. He and Keith had moved to a small, little known suburb of Charleston called Heathrow, it had been hard leaving certain aspects of his old life behind, but he had needed a change. It had been especially hard settling into a different school; however he had made friends fairly quickly at Heathrow High, and had been an instant success with the basketball team. The Hawks, as they were known, were on the back of a very poor season and had been struggling prior to Lucas's arrival, languishing at the bottom of the table. However Lucas had breathed life into the team and his innate skill and outstanding on-court chemistry with Felix had given them a dramatic change in fortunes. So much so in fact that by the end of the season they were unlucky to be eliminated in the latter stages of the play offs.

Lucas had barely slept that night; it didn't help that Felix's couch was horribly uncomfortable, but in truth he was far too excited to get any sleep at all. The coming day would mark the beginning of his 

Duke career. Following a hugely successful season with his high school, he and team mate Felix Taggaro had both been lucky enough to be offered a full scholarships.

'Felix! Come on man get up' Lucas called through his friend's door. As he got no reply, Lucas started banging on the door.

'Get the hell up man!' He called again.

'I'm up! I'm up!' Felix called back. Lucas heard movement from behind the door, in moments Felix opened the door.

'What the hell man! There's still like two hours before practice starts!'

'Yeah but I figured if we got their early we could do some one on one, I'm still pissed that you beat me last time' Lucas grinned.

'Sure, sure. Whatever. Although I'm surprised you wana risk losing again, you were pretty appalling last time' He joked.

'Whatever man, just get ready!'

...

Nathan couldn't believe how nervous he was when he got to the gym; he stood outside for a while, trying to pluck up the courage to go in. Eventually however he just decided to bite the bullet and timidly went inside. He looked around, trying to take it all in. There weren't many people yet but that was to be expected, it was still some time before it actually started. There were some older players, possibly juniors practicing free-throws at one end, some others doing running drills and two freshmen at the other end of the gym that seemed to be playing one on one. He looked at them, and slowly walked over to them.

Nathan smiled. Lucas. It was definitely him. There was no mistaking the dirty blonde hair, the tattoo of some bizarre Chinese symbol on his upper right arm; there was definitely no mistaking that trademark jump shot.

'I'd recognise that weak ass jump shot anywhere' Nathan smiled. Lucas turned and although he seemed surprised to see Nathan, he returned the smile none the less. Nathan walked up to him and they crashed their fists together.

'Whatever man, I've got the best jump shot on the east coast, you'll see!' He laughed. 'I'm surprised you got into Duke though Nate, how much did you have to pay the scout?' Lucas grinned.

'Well I see you haven't left your sense of humour in Charleston then, thank god for that. And for the record we won state, and I got MVP, broke all my dad's records doing it to! You should have seen his face!' Nathan smiled. Felix cleared his throat very loudly in attempt to gain acknowledgement.

'Oh right, well, well done man I guess' Lucas laughed. 'Felix, Nathan. Nathan, Felix', he said gesturing between them.

'This is your brother. Right?' Felix questioned. Nathan and Lucas both nodded.

'So Luke where you living?' Nathan asked curiously.

'Oh I'm crashing on Felix's couch until I find a place, I can't seem to find anywhere' He brooded. Nathan smiled, it was vintage Lucas.

'Me and Haley have a spare room, you can have it if you want it' He offered.

'Really?' Lucas asked excitedly, Nathan nodded, slightly amused at his brothers enthusiasm. 'Yeah thanks man that'd be great, If Haley will be alright with it?' He inquired.

'Come on man, you know she will be, you two are practically siblings'

'Well we were, I haven't spoken to her in a while, we don't call each other as much as we used to' He sighed, it had really hurt him being away from Haley. He hoped she wouldn't be too pissed at him, when he had first left they had phoned each other a lot, but over time they had pretty much lost contact.

'Well trust me; she'll be fine with it. As long as you can take the baby crying, there shouldn't be any problems'

'Right yeah, the baby I totally forgot about that' Lucas laughed.

'Won't be a problem will it?'

'No way! I can't wait to meet my little nephew!' Lucas smiled, it had really been worrying him that he couldn't find a place to live, it had really been getting to him. Sure he knew Felix would always let him sleep on his couch, but he could hardly do that forever. Now he had nothing to worry about, and he could look forward to seeing Haley again.

'Although, there will have to be some sort of no sex rule while me and Haley are in the house by the way, we could risk scarring Jamie for life' Nathan laughed.

'Good luck with that man!' Felix laughed. 'Him and Rachel are at it all time, can't tell you how many times I've walked in on-'He continued, before he immediately stopped talking once he saw Lucas glaring at him.

'Rachel?' Nathan enquired, with a slight smirk on his face.

'My girl friend' Lucas mumbled in explanation. 'She's on the cheerleading squad, you can meet her later' He said, grabbing the ball from Felix and executing a superb three pointer. They passed the ball around for a while until practice started. More and more players arrived before it eventually began.

They were shocked by the sheer brutality of their first practice session, it was a real step up from anything they were previously used to, however Nathan and Lucas were enjoying it regardless, and were happy to be together again. When they were given a short breather, Lucas looked over at the cheer leaders; he smiled when he saw Rachel.

'That's her' Lucas said to Nathan, pointing at a very pretty red head.

'Which one?' Nathan asked.

'The red head next to that brunette' Lucas replied. He frowned, there was something familiar about the brunette that was standing next to Rachel, but he could only see the side of her face. As he was staring at her, trying to work out where he knew her form, she became aware of him looking at her and returned the stare. She had long dark hair and very pretty dimples. Lucas groaned. There was no mistaking her. Brooke Davis. They held an awkward gaze for what seemed like an eternity before he made a feeble attempt to smile at her but when she continued to just stare at him in shock he quickly looked away. Moments later he stole another glance and saw her nudging a girl with blonde curly hair and gesturing towards him. Lucas groaned again. Peyton Sawyer.

Why the hell would they be here? He cursed his luck, before taking a moment to steal a quick glance at Peyton. Wow. He thought to himself, her blonde curls were a little shorter than they had previously been and slightly darker, but she still took his breath away. He briefly caught a glimpse of the long slender legs he had always loved before he realised that they were both staring right back at him and looked away in a flash. He looked at Nathan, who had apparently been talking to him the whole time he had been looking at them.

'Hello? Luke?' He asked, amused at the look on his brothers face.

'What the hell! Why are they here? You never said-'

'Woah cool down! They won't be a problem, that stuff was a long time ago!' He half shouted.

'Wow... that brunette is super hot! Was she the one from your old school?' Felix asked, Nathan nodded, Lucas just glared at him.

'Anyway nice work man, that red head is pretty hot' Nathan said once Lucas was slightly calmer.

'What? Oh. Thanks... I guess' Lucas said vaguely, not really taking in what was happening. He couldn't believe they were here, he had genuinely believed that he would never see either of them again. Occasionally he looked over at them to check that they were really there, to check that his mind wasn't just playing tricks on him. But inevitably every time he looked, they were looking right back at him. Fuck! Life really was a bitch sometimes, he thought bitterly to him. Surely someone was playing some sort of malicious prank on him, some sort of trick, like he was the pawn in some sinister game of cat and mouse.

Practice finished in no time, but Lucas wasn't really paying much attention, his heart really wasn't in it right now. He still couldn't believe that they were here. Why? Why were they here of all bloody places? He had sacrificed a lot so that they could get on with their lives, how the fuck was this fair?

'It's no use man, they're here. There's nothing you can do about it now' Nathan said to him in the changing rooms. 'So do you wana come home with me now? You know, see Haley, meet Jamie, check out the room' He continued as they walked out of the building, Lucas was looking around frantically for a sign of them but they had clearly made a very quick getaway.

'Luke?'

'Oh... right... yeah' Lucas replied vaguely, Nathan laughed; he could have got better conversation from a tree.

...

'Hey Hales, I'm back' Nathan called from the doorway, as he and Lucas walked in. 'And I've got someone you might want to meet' He shouted again.

'Who?' Haley asked poking her head round a corner, a very curious look on her face. Nathan grinned at the look on her face when her eyes fell on Lucas.

'Luke!' She shouted, running up to him and throwing her arms around him.

'Hey buddy' Lucas smiled. 'I missed you'. Haley nodded, before slapping him on the arm.

'You jackass! You should have come to see me! Or called!'

'I'm sorry' He laughed, 'I didn't want to risk being exposed to certain other people, although that's all gone to pot now'

'Oh right Brooke and Peyton' Haley cringed. 'That must have been awkward?'

'Erm yeah, awkward factor nine' He laughed, before explaining to Haley what happened in practice, and soon enough they were in the middle of a long flowing conversation, it was like they had never been apart. When you are such good friends with someone for a very long time, it never really goes away. Even after not talking for a long time, the connection is still there, and Lucas and Haley's was there as strong as ever. Haley hadn't given him a choice about moving in after Nathan had told her about his situation; in fact, she was more excited than Lucas.

'Oh we're going to have so much fun!' She exclaimed, hugging him.

'And we just scored a baby sitter' Nathan laughed. They continued talking and catching up for a while longer before Lucas reluctantly brought up the Brooke and Peyton scenario again.

'I really need to go talk to them; can you give me their address?'

...

He was stood outside their door, trying to pluck up the courage to knock. He raised his hand and clenched it into a fist to knock on the door before cowardly dropping it to his side. Fuck! Why was this so difficult? It had been two years, surely they weren't still pissed? But they had been pretty mad at the time, maybe he would have to do this another day, it wasn't really the right time he thought to himself. He turned away; he couldn't do it, not now.

He got to the end of the street before he realised that there never would be a right time, he was going to have to face them eventually, and now was as good a time as any. He walked straight back to their apartment and knocked twice, immediately regretting it. Seconds later Brooke opened the door with a trademark smile that faded in a flash. She hadn't changed much, Lucas thought to himself briefly, her hair had changed slightly but other than that she appeared to be the same pretty, fun loving girl he had once known very well. The silence was unbearable; they just stood there, staring at each other. She gave him the sort of look that said _what the fuck are you doing here?! _

'Well as awkward moments go, this is definitely memorable' Lucas remarked uncomfortably, trying desperately to break the ice with some mild humour.

'What are you doing here Lucas?' She asked rather abruptly in that familiar raspy voice.

'I think the three of us need to talk' He replied. 'Can I come in?'

She looked at him for a little while longer before reluctantly nodding and signalling for him to come in.

'Sit down' She said, pointing to the living room, Lucas couldn't help but be amused, she could have been talking to a dog.

'Brooke? Was it Jake?' Peyton called happily as she came out of what Lucas assumed was her bedroom; her eyes fell on Lucas sitting casually in her living room, it was very clear from her expression that she really had not expected it to have been him.

'Lucas' She mumbled, her cheeks going slightly red in embarrassment.

'Hello Peyton' He said awkwardly, remembering what had been said the last time they had spoken.

'Wha... wh...-'

'What am I doing here?' He smiled. She nodded. 'I think we need to talk' He said simply. Soon they were all sat in the seating area, each one awkwardly waiting for someone else to start the conversation.

'Lucas you came here to talk so talk' Brooke said impatiently.

'Right, right.' He said. She looked at him again, gesturing for him to continue.

'Well?'

'Well I guess I just wanted to find out what our current situation is...' He said. 'Eventually we were going to have to talk and I figured it should be me that breaks the ice.' They both nodded in approval, 'We will have practice together most days, and as of tomorrow I live with Nathan and Haley so I think there's a good chance we will be seeing a lot of each other. But, it won't be hard to ignore me at practice and If you want, I can make sure that I'm always out when you're with Nathan and Haley, I guess I need to know what you guys want form me to make this work' He said, his confidence growing with every word. They both looked at him for a while before looking at each other; they seemed quite taken aback. Brooke spoke first.

'Lucas, we forgave you for what happened a long time ago. It's all in the past' She said, trying to lighten the mood.

'Oh' He said, slightly surprised. 'Oh' He repeated, smiling this time. He opened his mouth to ask her why she had felt the need to be so hostile to him earlier if they had forgiven him so long ago but thought better of it, the last thing they needed now was an argument. 'Well, do you think there's a chance we could be friends again? I mean it's not like there's ever going to be any romance between 

us again.' As he said this he was sure he saw a look of disappointment on Peyton's face, a look of regret. 'If not though' He continued, 'we you can at least tolerate me being around right?'

'I don't see why not' Brooke said, returning the smile.

'You don't see why we can't be friends or you don't see why you won't be able to tolerate me?' Lucas asked, knowing desperately which one he wanted to hear.

'The friends part' She said, still smiling.

'In that case then, how about I take you both out for dinner or something? No, no, no it's not a three way date!' He said upon seeing the concerned looks on their faces, desperate to make the point clear. 'Just three old friends trying to... trying to be friends again'

They decided not to go out but order a pizza instead, Brooke was coming around now and she was now happily talking to Lucas like nothing had ever happened between them. Peyton however was being very reserved, and only really spoke when she was spoken to directly, and even then she only gave one word answers. This did not go unnoticed by Lucas.

'So...Broody' Brooke had said, Lucas smiled at the use of his old nickname.

'How's your love life going?' She asked. This particular question brought a reaction from Peyton. She had previously been looking away but she quickly looked back at them, like she was suddenly interested in what he had to say.

'How did I know you were going to ask me that' He laughed, Brooke smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders playfully. Lucas then continued. 'Well after our little...' He paused for a moment, unsure what to say, '...after our little...situation, I was pretty averse to dating for like a year or something. I just threw all my efforts into basketball, literally for the best part of a year my life was practice, gym and running, I did nothing else. Then after the season ended I figured it was about time I moved on and I started dating this girl called Rachel, you've probably met her, she's on the cheer squad'

Peyton felt a pang of disappointment, but she wasn't really sure why. She was with Jake now; her and Lucas was something of the past. He was over it, so surely she was too? She convinced herself that she was only disappointed because she hadn't been all that fond of Rachel when she had met her at practice earlier. She felt that Lucas could do better, that was all it was.

She looked up at him; he was in deep conversation with Brooke, which again brought another pang of jealousy. What the fuck? She thought to herself, why should she feel jealous about him talking to Brooke? She took a moment to look at his face. He hadn't changed all that much appearance wise; he was still horribly good looking, she thought fondly to herself. His dirty blonde hair was much the same style it had been in their junior year, he appeared to have grown an inch or two, and judging from the size of his biceps, he seemed to have filled out quite nicely since she had last seen him.

Peyton was vaguely aware of Brooke talking to her as she was staring at those piercing icy blue eyes of Lucas's that she had always loved.

'Peyton? You wanna stop staring at Broody? Remember Jake?' She smirked, much to the embarrassment of both of them.

'Right. Jake. Right' Peyton said more to herself than anyone else. She was completely red in the face, _Jake, not Lucas, Jake, you love Jake_. She said to herself. She smiled awkwardly at Lucas before walking out of the room.

'She's with Jake now?' Lucas asked, trying to hide his disappointment, although why he should feel any disappointment was completely beyond him.

'Yeah, they're so cute together' Brooke said fondly. 'He goes to Duke in theory; he should be getting here soon. You should come see him'

'Yeah. Yeah I'd like that' Lucas lied, he had always liked Jake but he wasn't sure how he would react to seeing him with Peyton. Peyton! Why the hell could he now not get her out of his head? 'Is she ok with me being here?' He asked Brooke, his face full of concern.

'Oh she'll be fine, she's not good with people that leave, it's kind of one of her things. I'm sure if you show her you're not going anywhere she'll warm to you again eventually' She replied brightly.

'I hope so' He said, Peyton had always meant a lot to him, he really hoped she would come around.

'So Luke, how's Keith?' Brooke asked, trying to change the subject.

'He's doing great actually; he's met this woman called Jules who is really cool. He adopted me now by the way' He said, very happy about the change in topic of conversation.

'That's great Luke; it really is' She smiled.

'Yeah' He smiled, 'yeah it is'. 'Hey I'd better go' He said glancing down at his watch, 'Tell Peyton I said bye' He said, slightly disappointed he wouldn't get to tell her himself.

'Will do, see you later Luke'

**A/N: Hmm kinda long... wanted to get this stuff out of the way though, like I said earlier, this fic will get much more exciting, stick with me! And please review!**


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